Monarchy

Monarchy began attracting an audience in November 2009, when the duo released two tracks of sleek, synth-heavy electronic pop. The group's two members, Edward Nigma and Peter Uzzle, kept themselves fairly hidden from the public eye, even wearing face masks in their promotional pictures and filling their music videos with costumed dancers. Their music was more omnipresent, though, leading to a healthy blog buzz during the summer of 2010 and earning the group comparisons to Hot Chip and Simian Mobile Disco. Meanwhile, Monarchy began working on a self-titled debut album, which was released before the year was up. ~ Andrew Leahey